View full sizeMOTOYA NAKAMURA/THE OREGONIANInspector Peggy Thurman checks solar cells at SolarWorld in Hillsboro, where the company employs 1,000. The U.S. Commerce Department is scheduled to announce Tuesday whether tariffs are warranted on imported Chinese solar cells and panels.

SolarWorld and the rest of the world will learn next week whether U.S. Commerce Department officials believe tariffs should be imposed to offset subsidies on Chinese solar panels and cells -- and if so, at what levels.

As the preliminary decision approaches Monday, with the announcement scheduled for Tuesday, two members of SolarWorld's trade-complaint coalition have emerged from the shadows.

The seven companies accuse China of hurting them by illegally subsidizing Chinese solar companies, as well as dumping cells and panels at unfair prices to corner the U.S. market. Members of an opposing group, the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy include installers and others who benefit from low-cost panels. They say tariffs would boost prices and kill thousands of U.S. jobs.

If the Commerce Department decides that Chinese subsidies warrant tariffs, importers will have to post bonds or cash deposits pending a final decision on duties this fall. Retroactive duties would also be imposed on a recent surge of imports that, according to the Commerce Department, Chinese companies mounted to beat the tariffs.

The agency also plans to announce a decision May 17 on whether separate tariffs should be imposed to counteract alleged Chinese dumping -- the practice of selling products abroad for less than prices or costs in China.

Steve Ostrenga, Helios Solar Works chief executive, said that reduced panel prices caused by inexpensive Chinese imports have hurt his Milwaukee company. Since last year, he's cut his workforce in half to about 25 employees.

Ostrenga said Wednesday that he didn't go public before for fear of retribution from China and because he didn't want the controversy to distract his small company from its manufacturing focus.

"But SolarWorld has been carrying the water for us for seven or eight months now," Ostrenga said. "We thought we'd stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them publicly."